“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1)
Why is it that it is so hard for people to wrap their heads around biblical grace? It seems that, when it comes to grace, we often fall into one of two errors. On the one hand, some conclude that grace is permission to do what ever I want — whether sinful or not. The reasoning seems to go something to the effect of: Now that I am no longer under the law, I am free (this is actually a true statement as far as it goes). However, these folks then extend the definition of freedom to mean casting off all restraint. This kind of view of grace leads to a form of licentiousness that gratifies the desires of the flesh (5:16). But Paul tells us this is not God’s intention for grace. He warns, “Do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh,” (5:13). Remember the flesh is synonymous with the sinful nature which still operates in the believer through the body and the senses. Jesus did not endure the agony of the cross to set you free from the penalty of sin in order to help you sin freely! That’s just preposterous.
The second mistake made with grace is to subtly (or overtly) flee from it. This usually happens to the person who genuinely desires to follow God and wants to honor him with a holy lifestyle. For this person, the reality of the flesh within at war against the Spirit leads to a kind of religious straitjacket. A way of seeking to assure, through outward moral and religious behavior, that we do not offend against God. And so this person does and does not do certain things in an effort to be holy and good. This is just a form of religious flesh that turns away from freedom and finds new laws to govern them.
So what is the remedy? What does biblical grace look like? How do you keep from licentiousness on the one hand and law on the other? The answer is to, “live by the Spirit,” (5:25) to “walk by the Spirit,” (5:16) and to be, “led by the Spirit'” (5:18). In other words we have to learn to live our lives cooperating with the Holy Spirit who lives in us by virtue of our faith in Jesus Christ. The Gospel is not simply that you believe in Christ and get to go to heaven when you die. (As though it were something external to us). The Gospel is that you believe in Christ and he comes to live in you by the Holy Spirit (and you get to go to heaven when you die). The Gospel is that Christ takes up residence in your spirit to live the Christian life through you. He teaches you how to love God and your neighbor [For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” (5:14)]. The good news is that, “Christ is being formed in you!” (4:19). His Spirit teaches you how to say no to your flesh — both the licentious kind (see the list of flesh works, verses 19-21) and also the law-based and religious-kind (verse 2-6). As we read in the book of Titus, “ For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,” (Titus 2:11-12).
What is required to live life by the Spirit? Simply put: Trust. We learn to trust the Holy Spirit who is living in us. We learn to listen to his voice. We allow him to use the Scriptures to train us up in godliness — convicting us when we sin and cleansing us anew through the blood of Christ as we confess and repent. We learn to allow him to grow the characteristics of Christ in our lives — and what are these characteristics? They are the fruit of the Spirit (verse 22-24). We learn that freedom is not freedom from restraint nor is it an external system of moral and religious checks and balances, but instead is an increasing freedom to love and trust God in all of our life.
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